Semis Bound Shabab Al Ahli and Al Riyadi Win Big; Pelita Jaya Salvage Win over KCC

Al Riyadi stay perfect in Dubai, Shabab Al Ahli confirmed their spot in the BCL Asia 2024 Semi-Finals, and Pelita Jaya end their campaign with an impressive win on June 12 at the Sheikh Saeed Bin Maktoum Sports Hall.

 Al Riyadi vs  NS Matrix Deers

Al Riyadi end the Group Phase of BCL Asia 2024 as the only undefeated squad after a 108-88 win over NS Matrix Deers.

The Lebanese side led from start to finish and built up a lead of as much as 37 points in this game. The team were red-hot from downtown, raining in 17 three-pointers on just 33 attempts - tying to most three-pointers made by a game so far in this competition set by the Hiroshima Dragonflies.

They have now scored over 100 points in all of their three games.

It was a shoot-out between Hayk Gyokchyan (21 points, 5 three-pointers) and Zach Lofton (26 points, 6 three-pointers) and the fans were certainly pleased to see them both at the top of their game. Lofton was also generous with the ball as well, dishing out 8 assists, though he was bested by Karim Zeinoun (10 assists) in the dimes department.

Al Riyadi had already clinched the top spot in Group A before this game, but that didn't stop them from firing all cylinders to get this win and stay undefeated.

John Murray put up a massive effort once again (21 points, 11 rebounds, and 6 assists) for the spirited NS Matrix Side, who finished at fourth place in the group.

 Shabab Al Ahli vs Liaoning Flying Leopards

The hosts dominated the Liaoning Flying Leopards, 97-65, in a battle to claim the remaining BCL Asia 2024 Semi-Finals spot.

An early 14-0 run by Shabab Al Ahli more or less locked up their status among the final four teams in the competition as the CBA Champions were not able to muster a comeback effort.

Travin Thibodeaux flirted with a triple-double with 20 points, 13 rebounds, 8 assists. Meanwhile, Qais Omar Alshabebi recorded a double-double of 25 points and 14 rebounds, leading the team in both categories. Marcus Georges-Hunt also had a big game with 17 points and 13 boards to his name.

Cong Mingchen scored 16 points for the Flying Leopards.

The win puts Shabab Al Ahli in second place of the standings in Group A, while the Flying Leopards finish at third-place.

 Pelita Jaya Basketball vs  KCC Egis Basketball Club

Pelita Jaya finish their BCL Asia 2024 campaign with a win over KBL Champions KCC Egis in a closely contested clash, 98-91.

The Indonesia side saw their early 22-point lead disappear late in the second half, swinging into a 4-point deficit in the final quarter for them to overcome.

From there, it was a spirited performance by Andakara Prastawa who scored nine points and dished out one assist in the last six minutes of the game to fire up the crowd. Prastawa ended up with 19 points, highlighted by five three-pointers. James Dickey had yet another monster game of 26 points and a tournament-high 26 rebounds - beating the highest total of 17 he previously set by himself twice.

KCC Egis had three players score at least 20 points from Deon Thompson (21 points), Lee Geunhwi (20 points) and Choi Junyong (21 points).

Pelita Jaya end with a 2-1 record and finish at third place in the standings of Group A. KCC Egis end their campaign in fourth place with three losses.